BVG reliable for older cards?
 

Forgive me if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find the answer on my search...

Should I have any concern about purchasing pre 1950 cards in a BVG slab? Or, to put it another way, should I have any more concern than if it were in a SGC or PSA slab? Anyone have stories about crossover from BVG to PSA or SGC? Thanks.

Adam

I wouldn't have any concern with buying one in terms of authenticity, but just wouldn't pay the same money for one in the same grade from PSA/SGC.

Andy B; their main vintage grader, is as good as anyone in the grading business.

Rich

Totally agree. Beckett is pretty consistent, but I've still managed to see cards with ink receiving 3's. Vintage cards in Beckett holders do not often go for the same prices for cards in SGC/PSA holders, but are still right up there.

As others have said, there are no concerns with authenticity when using Beckett. You just need to examine the card carefully to make sure that it deserves the grade if you want to crossover to PSA or SGC. I've cracked out Beckett cards that were graded Good (2), and they dropped to Poor (1) since Beckett seems to be more lenient on the number of creases a card can have, and still receive a 2 as long as there is decent eye appeal still there. I've had a card in a Beckett Fair (1.5) slab go to a PSA 2 also, so it can go both ways. You just need to examine the card in the slab carefully. This has not happened to me before, but I have heard that Beckett is also more lenient in regards to minimum size requirements for cards as long as the edges seem factory cut. Therefore, a card that is given a number grade by Beckett may come back unslabbed by PSA due to minimum size requirement.

Agreed 100%. His twitter feed is pretty interesting as well, he posts pictures of a lot of vintage fakes that come through Beckett (@broomewithaview).

Just one opinion, but if someone is submitting a high end vintage card to a grading service that will almost certainly result in a lower price than PSA and SGC, there is a reason.

Beckett grades modern hand(sheet) cut cards with a # grade all the time. It is a big problem with all the refractor/super refractor cards. So I would not doubt for a second they have graded a ton of vintage trimmed cards as long as they meet their minimum size requirement.

I have no problem at all buying BVG cards. As I said in a previous post, I do so knowing that that a BVG 4 won't bring the same money as a PSA 4. Others know this also so there are nice pre-war BVG holdered cards out there with much lower price tags. Buy the card not the holder. The mantra is as true today as it was 25 years ago.
I might also mention that during the time GAI actually had graders who were accurate, the same could be said of GAI cards. Unfortunately when the graders disappeared and were replaced with others, GAI pre-war cards became a bit of a joke. Still there are very nice pre-war cards which were holdered by GAI during that time period which sell for considerably less and which match up well to PSA and SGC cards.

Have had 2 t205s that met size requirements rejected by Beckett just last month for shaved edges.....

Value of Beckett
 

I agree with all the comments posted so far about Beckett. I don't buy them too often, but there are some very conservatively graded BVG vintage cards out there. Once I picked up a BVG graded T206 Red Portrait card of Ty Cobb that was graded "2." It was a VERY nice 2, however, with "very-good" corners and no creases. I took a chance and cracked it out, and submitted it to SGC. It came back SGC 40, a full point upgrade over the BVG grade.

BVG cards are perfectly fine! I have been dealing with them for years...

I've had good luck on doing cross overs on the two T206 BVG cards that I submitted to PSA. The Cycle 350 BVG 5.5 came back a PSA 5, and the Joss portrait Sov 150 BVG 3 came back a PSA 3. Pretty small sample size but I've been really impressed with Becket's prewar grading standards.

someone values protecting his collection higher than flipping it for more money?

I recently bought a 51 Bowman Mantle in BVG 4. The card looks nice for a 4, and the price I paid was about 1,000 less than a similar PSA 4 would sell for. I'm happy with the card.

I have no problem w/ BVG and have crossed cards over to SGC or PSA w/o an issue.
Others are still in their slab which is the sturdiest in the business.

Here's a Deacon White I picked up a couple years before his HOF induction in 2013.
Crossed it over for my SGC N284 Buchner set and it got the same SGC grade (40) as the BVG-3

http://www.qualitycards.com/pictures/0005737492.jpg